Scenic Route

When the normal route is boring!

Fictional road trips often involve long treks through picturesque landscapes, usually on two-lane country roads, passing by picturesque roadside attractions, when the characters would get there much faster if they just took the freeway. Taking the Scenic Route often results in An Aesop about the importance of enjoying the journey. (And sometimes the Scenic Route is the result of being lost when the driver is too proud to admit it.)

Occasionally the road will be a famous one, like Route 66 or the Pacific Coast Highway. Route 66 in particular has been the subject of many stories.

Chase Scenes can be prone to this too, passing by city landmarks in an order that defies logic to a local of the particular city.

It's a rare Road Movie that doesn't take the Scenic Route, if only because there are fewer plot hooks on the multi-lane freeways.

Examples of Scenic Route include:

Advertising

A series of Geico ads feature this for motorcycle insurance. Employees take the week off from work to explore the world on the back of a cycle.

Film

The 2013 film Scenic Route is about a trip on a scenic route that goes wrong.
The 2012 movie Guilt Trip features this when Andy Brewster, played by Seth Rogen, takes his mother with him on a cross-country business trip to sell his science products to different companies, partly because he hopes to reunite her with the man she once loved, Anthony Margolis. He cancels one of his appointments so they can go to see the Grand Canyon.
In Zombieland as well as the sequel Double Tap, by virtue of the zombie apocalypse, the scenic route is the better option. No one can fly planes anymore, the main highways are crowded with abandoned cars, and there's more open space to root out zombies. Tallahassee takes the time to make a detour by Bill Murray's mansion, while Wichita and Little Rock risk their lives to get to Pacific Playland.

Live-Action TV

One part of the appeal of the early-1960s series Route 66 was that it was one of the few (non-Reality Show) series to be filmed entirely on the road, using for its backdrop actual locations. (Most of them weren't actually on or near the titular highway, but they were all real places, chosen for visual impact.)

Video Games

In Undertale, before one unlocks shortcuts between the different regions, Monster Kid takes the player character on a tour of Waterfall if you're doing the Pacifist or mostly-Neutral Route. They stop to admire the view of the Kingdom, aka New Home, while sharing an umbrella. You can take the scenic route if you like after this juncture, but it requires more backtracking.

Western Animation

Wile E. Coyote and The Road Runner: According to Chuck Jones, the roadrunner never runs anywhere except the road (which makes sense). These roads, through gorgeous desert landscapes reminiscent of Monument Valley, seem to be narrow and winding.
Amphibia
- In one of the canon shorts, this happens when Anne complains about being bored while riding with the family on Bessie the snail. After a suggestion from Hop Pop, they agree to take the "scenic route" where various natural hazards attack her and set her hair on fire. At the end of the short, after a question from Hop Pop, she cheers and asks if they can do it again. Watch it here.
- "Night at the Inn": Subverted. The Plantars attempt to help Anne leave the mountains via the pass...but because of the early cold snap mentioned in "Snow Day," glaciers block the path. Offscreen, Sprig takes a despondent Anne on a dangerous nature hike, which ends with them running back to Bessie and shouting at Hop Pop to drive.
- Discussed when the Plantars start their long trip out of the mountains. Sprig complains that Hop Pop won't let them have any fun, while Hop Pop wants to make it to Newtopia safely, and without wasting time. When Anne and Sprig find an ancient factory that starts up as Hop Pop comes to bust them, Hop Pop agrees that one or two stops can't hurt.
- In Night Drivers, Sprig and Polly try to drive the upgraded wagon at night as they meet with various hazards, on the road from Newtopia to Wartwood. The ghost of Zechariah Nettles tried to lead them down to a nicer and calmer path but ended up on the more dangerous route. Quite ironically, this ends up being the shortcut back to Warwtood and they don't encounter the other towns they saw on the forward journey.
- In season 3, Anne becomes determined to give Sprig the best birthday possible out of guilt that she didn't prepare anything for him, since the Plantars never bothered telling her when her best friend's birthday was. She convinces her dad to drive them on hot air balloon tours, where they can see the view of Los Angeles from above. It starts out nice enough considering they take the balloon for a joyride...but then they sink too low into the city limits. Hilarity Ensues.
In the fourth episode of Gargoyles, part of a multi-episode pilot, Detective Elisa Mava and Goliath agree to meet at night to investigate a case involving Xanatos. While he cannot fly, he can glide, and he transports her around the city as Elisa indicates where he should turn. Taking a cab or the subway is a bad idea, given no one in New York knows what the gargoyles are. It's the moment where they develop an unspoken mutual attraction, as Elisa marvels at how beautiful New York looks from a bird's eye view.
The Owl House:
- Normally, Eda asks Owlbert her Palisman to fly as fast as he can when she and her family make their getaway from the witch cops. Episode 2, however, has her take a detour to show her new apprentice Luz the Boiling Isles from the sky. They stop to marvel on how beautiful the isles are, built on the skeleton of a giant Titan. Eda uses it to cheer up Luz, who fell for a wizard that scammed her into thinking that she was a magical Chosen One; she says that in the Boiling Isles, you can decide who you want to be. Just as life emerged from a dead skeleton, Luz's destiny can emerge how she wants it.
- A very heartwarming one. In "O Titan, Where Art Thou", King is suffering an identity crisis after learning he's not the King of Demons, but a baby Titan called the Lost Son, essentially a god. He finds out in the season finale that he's the son of the Titan that makes up the Boiling Isles, that pulled a Heroic Sacrifice to protect his baby . Not helping is that Lilith is falling on her knees to worship him, something King once wanted but it now makes him uncomfortable. While wandering around Bonesborough, Emperor Coven guard Steve notices King hugging the island bones, which King realizes must be his parent. Rather than arrest King for being on Belos's wanted list, Steve asks if he needs a listening ear, and offers to take him on a motorcycle ride. They go through the town, doing good deeds for the locals as Lilith and Hooty follow to make sure Steve does no funny business. King realizes that he doesn't want to be the King of Demons anymore, and Steve quits the Emperor's Coven.
Steven Universe: The Crystal Gems have warp pads that allow them to travel worldwide; the dismantled ones can help them hop planets if needed. Sometimes, however, they go for the scenic route.
- "On the Run" features Steven and Amethyst deciding to act out an adventure from one of his stories; they make hobo bindles, hitch a ride to the outskirts of Beach City, and walk through the countryside until they can hop on a boxcar. There's a beautiful scene where they watch the sunset from atop the train and sing together. Amethyst reveals she wanted to return to a Homeworld Gem factory called the Kindergarten, based in the desert, and show it to Steven. The reason for this becomes heartbreaking when Amethyst revealed she overheard Pearl saying the now-defunct Kindergarten, where Amethyst was formed and found by Rose, was so horrible and Amethyst believes that it means Pearl hates her. Pearl catches up to them easily using the Warp Pad, asking with confusion and Anger Born of Worry about why they just vanished.
- "Steven's Dream" has the Gems expressly forbid Steven from investigating the visions in his dreams, of seeing a ruined palanquin in the middle of pastures. Steven, however, has recently gotten to know Uncle Andy who's a pilot. Andy takes him and his dad to South Korea, where Connie figured out the palanquin must be. Steven and Greg take time to enjoy the sights and try some local fare before they investigate the palanquin.
- "Now We're Falling Apart" has Pearl reveal that the "scenic route" of Earth convinced Pink Diamond to abandon colonization and start a war to save the Planet, [as shown in this clip]. Pearl noticed that Pink was bored and lonely on the moon base, expressing a desire to go down and meet the newly-formed Quartz Gems; when Pink pointed out that Blue and Yellow would punish her for fraternizing with lower-class citizens, Pearl suggested she shapeshift to look like a Rose Quartz, our future Rose Quartz, to avoid being busted. After they met the Quartzes, Pink said the world is so nice and she wishes she could stay longer. Rather than warp back her Diamond, Pearl reveals the whole planet is theirs to explore. They go on a romantic trip as Rose flies Pearl through the mountains, several pastures, and a forest with a river. Realizing that colonization will destroy all the life they've seen, from butterflies to humans, Pink thanks Pearl for showing her, and starts her rebellion as the outlier Rose Quartz when Blue and Yellow refuse to let Pink stop the colony.

Real Life

This map analyses roads by how much they wiggle so that motorcyclists can find the most fun ones to ride (if you enjoy leaning into turns anyway). Most of these would be byways and scenic routes since only the most mountainous regions would not allow for a straighter, quicker route between main destinations instead.